Lime to Fight Tomato Blights

I read (possible folk-lore) that blights are associated with low lime levels. Well not lime but all the things lime has in it. So what the heck.  I am going to take a 4 foot by 8 foot raised bed and shock it with 2 - 40 pound bags of lime this weekend. That will give me 4 to 6 weeks of the soil sitting with lime. This bed did have some blight last year.

I trypically treat blight by...

1) water without spalshing
2) cutting the bottom leaves up by 1-2 feet
3) pruning leaves that show and sign of blight
4) spraying with a wettable sulpher and epson spray I make.
5) heavily mulching with grass clippings.

It keep the plants alive but they still get harmed.

So I am thinking doing those 5 things with drastically changing the PH of the soil and mineral content might work.

We will see.

What I planted, seeded, and kept from last winter: Early Greens

Swiss chard
Colored stalks red, yellow and orange. Bought as transplants from Loews.

Red and Green cabbage
Bought as transplants from Loews.

Brussel Sprouts
Bought as transplants from Loews.

Red Lettuce
Bought as transplants from Loews.

Kale
Bought as transplants from Loews.

The transplants will get my garden producing earlier. You can eat the leaves of all the above plants.

I moved last years onions, old turnips and beets to one location. I buried the turnips and beets and will let them grow leaves for harvesting and eating. My last year turnip greens are back and I will leave them as they lay. The onions I planted along the boards of my raised beds. I will use them for their stalks. I also had several kale plants survive the winter. I cut the beat up leaves back and cut stems back that were partially rotted. The are all growing new leaves. They will turn to seed heads which I also put in salads.

I planted 8 varieties of radishes, a red veined russian kale, spinach, lettuce, red onion sets and beets. The radishes are up after 5 days of warmth. The peas I planted a few weeks back are up. They are about an inch high. Oh I also planted 3 varieties of carrots.

A mixture of last years plants, Loew's transplants and seeds have started my cool weather garden. In about 3 weeks, I will be able to make salads with regularity. Each week will bring new products to the table. Now is the time to get your garden started.

Peas are Breaking Through: Get Them in the Ground

The peas I planted in containers about 2 weeks ago are breaking through the ground. If you haven't planted peas, get them in the ground now. You still have time. They don't mind cold weather. Use your containers on the deck. Let the peas borrow the space till you plant them with flowers.

I just planted a row of 25 seeds along my cucumber bed. The peas will be long gone by the time the cucumbers need the space.

Grow Bunching Onions (Scallions) in 5 Gallon Bucket

I planted a lot in the garden this weekend. One idea I want to pass on is container gardening. I have a lot of  5 gallon paint buckets I use for growing upside down tomatoes and peppers.

While the season is still too cool for tomatoes, I used the bucket to pack in bunching onion seeds.

The bucket  was filled with soil. I just cleaned it up and mixed in some fertilizer. I scattered the onion seed (the entire packet) into the bucket and stuck it in the corner of my garden.

The bunching onions don't mind be packed tightly. You can pick them as the mature and sort of thin them as they grow.

Use Historical Data to Plan Tomato and Vegetable crops.

The best data is old data. This link will show you all you need to know for timing your plantings. For tomatoes it looks like May 20th.  Keep in mind the 37 degree night was frost in my area. I remember it. The city areas tend to stay warmer and Im in a lower area.
 
Tomatoes want warm nights.
 
 
LAST YEARS temperatures for May 2009